Author: Festus Adeloye

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Friday welcomed the donation of N1 billion to the Federal Government’s Food Support Programme and 4,600 units of digital devices for distribution to schools by telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria. Shettima said MTN’s gesture in support of the FG’s efforts to address hardship in the country is worthy of emulation and indicates its commitment to the development of the Nigerian economy. “I am hugely proud of your (MTN’s) stability as a company and commitment to the progress of our country,” Shettima told the Chairman of MTN Nigeria, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, who paid him a courtesy visit…

Barcelona signed Spain star Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig on Friday for a reported 60 million euros ($65 million). “The player has signed a contract with the club for the next six seasons, ending on June 30, 2030, and his release clause is 500 million euros,” said the Catalan side in a statement. Playmaker Olmo finished as joint top scorer at Euro 2024 with three goals as he helped La Roja win the competition for a record fourth time. The 26-year-old played for Barcelona at youth level before joining Dinamo Zagreb in 2014. Attacking midfielder Olmo, who can also play…

The House of Representatives has established a new committee to investigate economic sabotage within the petroleum sector. Notably absent from the list of committee members is Ikenga Ugochinyere, the former ad-hoc chairman and current Chairman of the House Committee on Upstream Petroleum. A few days ago, the House dissolved the previous ad-hoc committee, which had been investigating issues related to the importation of adulterated petroleum products, the non-availability of crude oil for domestic refineries, and other critical energy security concerns. The decision to dissolve the committee followed several controversies since its inauguration. The previous ad-hoc committee, led by Ugochinyere, had…

The abductors of two students of Kogi State University, Kabba (KSUK) have demanded ₦50m ransom for the release of the students. The students were kidnapped last week Friday at the same spot and same day the Caretaker Chairmen of Kabba/Bunu Council area, Dare Micheal and his three aides were abducted. While the CTC chairman, Dare was released due to ill health that could not allow him to trek quickly with the abductors, the other three aides and the two students are still with the abductors. The kidnappers had on Monday requested ₦100 million as ransom for the chairman’s aides, and…

President Bola Tinubu has extended condolences to the family of Issa Hayatou, former President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), who died at the age of 77 on Thursday. In a statement by his spokesman, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Tinubu commiserated with the Cameroonian Football Federation, the people of Cameroon, and the African football community. He described the passing of the legendary football administrator as a huge loss, underlining his contributions to the development of the sport in Africa and beyond. Hayatou was also a one-time acting President of FIFA — the world’s football governing body. The President prayed for…

Kamala Harris and Joe Biden will next week make their first joint campaign trip since the US president’s shock decision to drop out of the 2024 election, the White House said Friday. “On Thursday, August 15, the President and Vice President will travel to Maryland to discuss the progress they are making to lower costs for the American people,” it said in a statement. AFP

Nigerian sprint icon, Tobi Amusan has failed to make it to the final of the Women’s 100m hurdles. This came as she finished in third position clocking a time of 12.55s which was also not enough to see her qualify as one of the best losers. Stay tuned for more details…

Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, has described as “arrant nonsense”, recent calls by some groups asking Igbo people to leave Lagos. “That type of campaign is ‘arrant nonsense’; it is ‘sheer stupidity,” George told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. The retired army officer, a Lagos indigene, spoke on the sideline of an interactive session with the media on the State of the Nation, held at his office in Ikoyi. “It is nonsense. I say it is arrant nonsense. Why should we be saying that the Igbo people should leave? “We have grown with them…

The actress and entrepreneur, Tonto Dikeh, has denied claims that she was arrested and detained by the police or any law enforcement agency in Nigeria. In a statement on her Instagram page, Tonto emphasised that she is a law-abiding citizen and a member of the diplomatic society, committed to living above board. She clarified that she has never been involved in criminal activities and has never received a search warrant, arrest warrant, or any other form of warrant from the Nigerian police. Tonto warned that she would exercise her rights against anyone who spreads false stories or defames her character.…

A member of the House of Representatives Alhassan Doguwa (APC-Kano) says he has no murder case. The comment was a reply to his colleague Abdulmumini Jibrin’s (NNPP-Kano) allegations against him. In a statement he signed on Thursday, Doguwa said, “Let me say categorically as of today. I, Doguwa, am not standing before any court of law in Nigeria for an alleged murder, a culpable homicide. “I went through virtually all criminal investigations and judicial considerations at various levels and came out clean and victoriously innocent. Copies of such rigorous police investigations conducted by the highest police investigations authority in the land…